Population Growth Problem Set
(with calculators)

Population growth problems in AP ES can be solved with 3 formulas:

1) (New - Old) / Old x 100 = Population increase or decrease percentage

This is used if you are given the OLD population size and the NEW population size and asked to figure the percent increase or decrease in population

a) The United States has 303,824,640 people this year (2010). In 2009 we had 301,314,689. What was the percent growth over the last year?

b) India has a current population (as of 7:05 AM this morning) of 1,147,995,904 people. Last year at this time (7:05 AM on Aug 19) they had 1,130,139,697. What is their percent growth over the last year?

2) Population Size x (1 + percent increase in decimal form) = New Population Size

This is used if you are given a POPULATION SIZE and the PERCENT INCREASE (or decrease) for a period of time. It lets you figure the new population size.

a) Maldives is the fastest growing country on our planet with a . They are currently with a population size of 385,925 people. There annual growth rate is at 5.6%. What will their population be a year from now?

b) Uganda is one of Africa's poorest nations. The are currently at 31,367,972 people but are expecting to grow by 3.6% over the next year. What will their population be in 2010?

3) 70 / Annual Percent Growth written as a percent = Doubling Time

This formula is used to approximate the amount of years it will take before a population doubles if you are given the ANNUAL PERCENT GROWTH

a) The United Arab Emirates is a country with a 3.833% population growth (2nd in the world). The country currently has 4,621,399 people. How long will it take before the country reaches a population of 9,242,798 people?

b) China has a .629% population growth with 1,330,044,544 people. How many years will it be before China doubles its population?

MIXED PROBLEMS:

a) France has a growth rate of .574% and a population of 61,037,510 people. How many people with they have a year from now? How long will it take before they double their population?

b) Iran has a current population of 65,875,224 people. A year ago they had 65,357,591 people. What is their population gowth rate? How many years will it be before we are blessed with a doubling of the Iranian population?

c) Brazil is the world's 6th largest county with 196,342,592 people. 57 years ago they had half their current population. What is their annual growth rate? What will their population be in 2011? 2012?

d) Indonesia has 237,512,352 people and is the 5th largest country. They are expected to add 2,790,770 people to their population this year. What is their annual percentage growth rate? How many years before they double their population?